Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
It seems like it’s been forever since Dreamworks released an animated film, although I think it’s only been since last summer’s SPIRIT. I’m curious about SINBAD because it’s a full-fledged adventure film, and this story in particular seems well-suited for animation. Let’s see what today’s spy thought of a recent screening of the unfinished movie:
Hey Harry... Hey Moriarty...
I can’t believe I finally have a legitimate reason for contributing to AICN, so forgive me if I ramble. Several weeks ago, I was invited to watch an early cut (only 50% of the coloring was complete, the score was synthesized, and the CG needed some cleaning up) of DreamWorks’ next animated feature, SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS.
My feelings about SINBAD up until today could best be described as “wary optimism”. A pure animated adventure movie, its scope and wonder unrestricted by such annoyances as money, physics, safety, or reality, could be a film lover’s dream. Yet the three previous attempts at this dream (you know who you are, TITAN A.E., ATLANTIS, and TREASURE PLANET) have all disappointed in one way or another.
Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first. If you’ve been waiting for an animated STAR WARS or RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK... keep waiting. SINBAD does not entirely escape “cartoon” conventions. It contains the requisite wise-cracking hero, the lovable animal sidekick, the sappy storybook romance, and the eccentric slapstick-providing crew. The good news? SINBAD manages to rise above these clichés and provide a very entertaining, sometimes enchanting, adventure that should appeal to both children and adults.
The story follows Sinbad (Brad Pitt) and Proteus, once childhood friends who longed for excitement and heroics on the open sea. As adults, they have grown apart. Sinbad has fulfilled his wish, but at the cost of his honor—he is a pirate and a thief. Proteus, the prince of Syracuse, has opted for a civilized life on shore. They are reunited when Sinbad attempts to steal the MacGuffin (excuse me, the Book of Peace) from Proteus’ ship. They fight, they save each others’ lives, and Sinbad decides to let the Book go when he realizes Proteus is dating an animated Catherine Zeta-Jones. Enter Eris, an evil goddess of some sort, who wants to use the Book to, you know, destroy the world. She frames Sinbad. Sinbad is sentenced to death. Proteus, trusting his old friend, puts his life on the line instead. Sinbad is given the chance to redeem himself by stealing the Book back. Catherine Zeta-Jones stows aboard his ship to make sure that he does. Fantastical voyage and burgeoning romance ensue.
The visuals, for the most part, are stunning. The characters share the same design as those in PRINCE OF EGYPT and ROAD TO EL DORADO, but they have been transplanted to a world that is far more lush, colorful, and diverse. The city of Syracuse is intricately beautiful, with garden terraces and white towers rising in hills above the sea. The Sirens’ Lair is genuinely creepy, with glowing skulls and decaying ship hulls. Everything else looks alternatively ancient, mythical, or swashbuckling. The CG ships also stand out—the way characters zip up and down the masts and swing behind and around the sails gives the sense that these boats are tangible spaces to be inhabited, not just 3D objects to be moved around with a mouse click. The water is CG as well, but well done enough that I didn’t think about it being CG while watching the film.
I enjoyed the (temporary) score as well. The music matched the mood of each scene nicely, especially the sinister themes accompanying Eris and the Sirens. More than anything, though, I appreciated the lack of pop tracks and/or character duets. As of now, there is absolutely no singing in SINBAD. I pray DreamWorks doesn’t chicken out and graft on the Goo Goo Dolls.
As for the voice work... it’s good enough. I found Brad Pitt’s voice very distracting at first, but he eventually grew into the character (or vice versa). Sinbad is not the serious dashing hero I was hoping for... as I hinted at above, he likes to throw a lot of one-liners around. Once I accepted this fact, I was able to accept Pitt’s charming class clown delivery. Catherine Zeta-Jones creates a strong sexy heroine without sounding too much like Catherine Zeta-Jones. Dennis Haysbert (as Sinbad’s cohort) and Joseph Fiennes (as Proteus) both disappear into their roles. I would have loved to see more of each. The weak chain in the cast is, without a doubt, Michelle Pfeiffer as the villainess. Her voice is too wispy and girlish to make Eris sufficiently menacing. She sort of works as a seductive, playful nemesis... but I almost wish they had given the role to CZJ instead.
The absolute best feature of SINBAD is the action, which is pretty much non-stop. The film starts off with Sinbad’s crew battling Proteus’ crew across both ships with surprisingly well choreographed sword, dagger, and cannon fights. Just when you’re getting bored with that, a giant sea squid shows up to elevate the combat to a more epic, outlandish scale. And the squid is just the first in a long series of huge CG monsters. Each is unique and, even better, so are the methods by which they are defeated. Remember how cool the magic carpet ride was the first time you saw ALADDIN? Or how the only memorable thing about ICE AGE was the ice sliding scene? Well, I’d say SINBAD has at least three or four sequences of that pace and quality. I loved all of them. Plus, due to the clean lines and precise timing of animation, the action is always easy (sometimes a joy) to follow. After the headache DAREDEVIL’s editing gave me, SINBAD was refreshing.
Unfortunately, the film is not perfect. While most of the CGI blends perfectly with the 2D animation, some of the monsters stood out glaringly. I assume this will be fixed. What will not be fixed, however, is the film’s principal weakness—its over reliance on humor. Sinbad turns practically everything into a joke. Sometimes this gives him a Han Solo aura, and his lines are well written. But in more important, climactic scenes, I just wanted him to shut up and remain in awe. Truly dramatic moments in the story are often undermined by the screenplay’s preference for comedy. Worse is the physical humor. Yes, SINBAD is full of gross-out sight gags. Vomit, saliva, and plenty of anatomy references. There’s even some unexpected nudity. The biggest offender is the ship’s dog, Spike. I was hoping DreamWorks had gotten the juvenile stuff out of their system with SHREK but, much to my chagrin, they’re adding several more dog scenes. The children will laugh their heads off now, but what about when they grow up?
Still, if you go in expecting a slapstick adventure, you’ll probably appreciate the balance between comedy, drama, and action. In my opinion, SINBAD is superior to TITAN A.E., ATLANTIS, and TREASURE PLANET (the last of which I actually enjoyed quite a bit). I guess I was just wishing for more. An animated PRINCESS BRIDE. An American PRINCESS MONONOKE. What I got instead is simply a fun fun movie and the best of its currently limited genre. I look forward to seeing it completed in a theater (except for the dog).
Moogle the X
Excellent reportage, Moogle, and I appreciate you taking the time to drop us a line.
"Moriarty" out.
